Smoker Newbie.

[DonBo]

Got a new smoker last fall, nothing fancy, just a smaller electric. I've been kind of intimidated by it. I did a batch of trout a few weeks ago that came out great. This is my second try, a turkey breast.

It looks great, and was not bad, a bit too salty maybe, but very moist and flavorfull. Question is: I soaked this in a Tenderquick brine from Friday night, and smoked it yesterday afternoon. Did it need to stay in that long? Did it need the brine at all? What does the brine do for it? Is there a rule as too how long to soak something?

I've done several turkeys on my old water type charcoal smoker (with good results) without brining. Just curious as to what/when to brine and when not too.

Thanks for your advice.

[reinhard1]

that does look good there!!. i'm sure there will be someone giving you better information than i could as far as brining. i have only brined trout so far. however there is some great stuff on Shack's thread on page one of the cooking and recipe forum. "HSO's Smoked,Smoking@Smokers Library Of Links" just scroll down and you will see some older post's and newer ones as well on Brining information. good luck.

[Farley]

Did you follow a brine recipie for a whole turkey (not just the breast)? That could have been where the extra salt came from.

[old goose hunter]

Looks really tasty. As far as the brine, did you leave it in from Friday

night until Sunday? If so that is why it is so salty. My rule of thumb is

under 12lbs. approx. 6 hours, 12-20lbs over night approx. 12 hours. Over 20lbs add 1 hour per lb. You also said you used a "tender quick" brine, I have

never heard of using a curing agent for brining. I don't think you need to

cure the meat, as long as you use a thermometer and bring the internal temp

of the meat above 165 degrees before you eat it. Simple brine recipe is

1 cup kosher salt, 1 cup dark brown sugar to 1 gallon of water. I really like

garlic so I will take a whole head of garlic and crush it in the brine as well. When you take the meat out of the brine rinse it off well. Then

add your herbs, pepper etc. and smoke away!!!!!!!! It will get better every

time you do it. Good thing to practice on is whole chickens. They are cheap

so you can buy a couple try diffrent recipes on each one. One thing I learned, keep a note book of what you do. How long did it brine, spices

used, how long did it smoke, what kind of wood did I use. Then the million

dollar question, Was it good? As Reinhard would say" Good Luck"

[DonBo]

Thanks old goose, that's the kind of info I was looking for.

The notebook idea is great. I'll start doing that for sure. Your rule of thumb for brining will be the first entry.

[old goose hunter]

Your welcome, just don't be afraid to try new things! Last night

I took some pork chops, brined them for 30 minutes in bowl. Just

mixed up 1 quart of brine. Put them in my little propane smoker

at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes, then kicked the temp up to

325 about 20 minutes. Pulled them coated with a little BBQ sauce

let them rest for 10 minutes, baked potato, green beans, and a

glass of malbec wine. I brine almost all my meats, I am no

scientist, so I do not know what exactly it does to the meat.

I know it does something to the protein in the cell that makes

it retain water, so your meats a generally juicier if you brine

them. Have Fun!

[thirdeye]

That is one good looking breast. Nice color, even plumpness, and I see that the skin did not shrink up on you (which is common) - I use a couple of toothpicks to make sure that doesn't happen.

I agree with old goose hunter that it brined too long. Normal brine times for a breast are 12 to 24 hours. And he is also correct about the most common ratio of brines being 1 cup of kosher salt to one gallon of water. One problem here is that one cup of Morton's does not weigh the same as one cup of Diamond Crystal due to their differences in grain sizes. Likewise, a fine salt like canning salt can throw off your brine if you use a cup of it. It's best to weigh your salt, this will keep your recipe consistent. With weight in mind, 8 ounces of salt to one gallon of water is a very common brine. (more on this later)

Sugar is commonly added to counterbalance the salt. White or brown sugar is okay, and the amount should be from 1/4 the amount of salt, to an equal amount....So, 2 ounces to 8 ounces of sugar in one gallon.

Tenderquick is also common in brines. The combination of nitrites and nitrates will give your meat a more "pink" color, they will tenderize the meat (that's why "tender" is in the name), and at the same time tighten the texture a little. Think of a pork roast and a ham, the roast is gray, the ham is pink, both are tender but the ham has a tighter texture because it was cured. The nitrates also help with moisture retention. This breast was brined with some TQ added, and cooked to 165*.

Old goose hunter is spot on about adding aromatics to your brine, garlic onion, lemon, spices, fresh herbs, beer, wine, peppercorns, honey, agave nectar, maple sugar, maple syrup..... the list is endless. And his suggestion about practicing on chickens is an excellent one.

Now, I'm going to cover some new territory..... The first is brine strength. I usually prefer less salty brines. Here is my turkey breast brine:

Turkey Brine

1 gallon water

6 ounces of kosher salt

1 tablespoon Morton's Tenderquick

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 onion, chopped

1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons pepper blend or crushed peppercorns

One very important step that folks skip is resting (equalizing), this is the period of time after bring and before smoking. An overnight rest in the fridge lets all the liquids inside the breast settle down will greatly improve your finished product. Resting will also make sure that the concentration of salt is equal throughout the breast. Even when I brine chicken pieces or pork chops for an hour or two, I rest for an hour before cooking.

The next area is injecting brines. This gets a brine right where you want it, and saves time when brining. When injecting, you can usually smoke your bird in about 8 hours after injecting. No rest is needed. I use 4 ounces of brine in each side of the breast. I also use white sugar as brown sugar will tend to leave streaks where you injected.

The last thing is what I call Lite Brine. I've had excellent results with ratio's of 3.5 ounces of salt to one gallon of water. I often use this on chicken pieces and chops.

I'm going to leave you with an injection recipe from one of my mentors, "Old Dave". This guy has forgotten more about smoking that I'll ever learn, and he never fails to help me when I ask.:

I like a brine based off of "Shakes" Injectable Brine. This is the recipe that I use most often for all of my poultry.

32oz clean water (non-chlorinated and not softened)

1/4 cup pickling salt

2 teaspoons of TenderQuick

1/3 cup clover honey

3-4 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon pickle spice

Heat it up in a sauce pan but do not boil. For a 12-15 pound turkey, inject 2 oz in each leg, 2 oz in each thigh, and 4 oz in each side of the breast. 16 oz total per turkey. I like to do the injection at least 8-10 hours before the fire.

Dave

[DonBo]

Thirdeye, that is some awesome advice! This is exactly the kind of info I need to get me started out on the right foot. I'll certainly be adding this info to my new journal. (that I started last night)

Thanks!!!

[DonBo]

Another quick question. Is most of your smoking done at about 220 degrees?

I know a lot of this is personal preferance, but what kind of wood do you prefer for what kind of meat/fish?

[OnAFly]

Thirdeye, why do you use so little TenderQuick? Just curious, most I recipes I see use much more.

[old goose hunter]

I have a question for Thirdeye & OnAFly. Why do you use the curing agent?

I understand for fish and sausage etc. that you are preserving, but

turkey, chicken, chops that are going to be eaten when cooked I don't

know why you would use the cure? Is it just for extra safety against

bacteria?

[old goose hunter]

Never mind, I just went back and reread Thirdeyes post. Now I see the

curing agent is to tenderize the meat. Makes sense now, I guess I need to

read a little closer before I ask questions. This forum is sure a great

place to get and share information. Thirdeye, great pictures again! You

can see the juice running out of the meat!

[eyeguy 54]

3rdeye a ? when used as an injection for 8 hours should it be cooled before injected after heated up? Thx I hope to try this one and smoke a bird friday.

[Leaky]

All I can say is "WOW".

What a great lesson in brining!

[thirdeye]

Never mind, I just went back and reread Thirdeyes post. Now I see the

curing agent is to tenderize the meat. Makes sense now, I guess I need to

read a little closer before I ask questions. This forum is sure a great

place to get and share information. Thirdeye, great pictures again! You

can see the juice running out of the meat!

I guess the best way to put it is that Tenderquick "helps" with tenderness because of the texture change and it's ability to improve moistness.... remember TQ is mostly salt. It's not actually a dedicated meat tenderizer like the ones that break down the tissue.

Morton's recommends using it right out of the bag as a dry cure rub. Here are their instructions...

Pork chops, spareribs, chicken and other small cuts of meat can be cured with 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) of Tender Quick per pound of meat. Rub cure into meat thoroughly then place in clean plastic bag and tie securely. Store in refrigerator at 36-40 deg F for 4-8 hours to cure. Rinse just prior to cooking.

[thirdeye]

3rdeye a ? when used as an injection for 8 hours should it be cooled before injected after heated up? Thx I hope to try this one and smoke a bird friday.

Yes, simmer your water and add the salt & sugar, stir to dissolve them, then add your other ingredients and simmer long enough for all the flavors to be released from any spices or whatever. Then cool down and refrigerate before using. You can make a brine a day before using it, just be sure to store it in a non-reactive container (plastic, glass, stainless steel, etc.) And when brining, food also use a non-reactive container. Depending on the type of needle you have, you may need to strain your brine so it won't clog the needle.

Here is a tip I use for making and using a brine sooner... Measure your water, but hold back 1-1/4 cups. Make your brine as mentioned above, and let sit off the stove for an hour or so. I know that my ice trays (14 cube plastic models) need 1-1/4 cups of water to fill them up.... So, when I'm ready to cool off my brine I add 14 cubes of ice (the missing 1-1/4 cups of water). This really knocks the heat out, and I don't dilute my ratio of salt to water.

[eyeguy 54]

I ut the mix in half and warmed it in the wave. Injecting Thursday night. The last 3 times I did a brine with taragon leaf. Really good but I like to try new stuff. Thx for the tips.

[eyeguy 54]

Dang good, I like that brine injected. Tastes great!

[DonBo]

Bought a bunch of chicken thighs on sale this weekend. On a whim I put this batch in the smoker. Thought the more I use this thing the more comfortable I'll be with it. Nothing fancy here, just put a rub of some spices on and smoked them for two hours at about 200 degrees, then cranked the heat to finish them off.

They turned out excellent! Even my wife who won't eat dark meat said "that looks good, can I try one?" She was impressed! They turned out very moist and tender.

Thanks to evryone on here with their responses to a newbie so I can get a good start with the new smoker. I think I'll be liking it!

[Leaky]

Looking good. Love chicken thighs.

[reinhard1]

i like the color on those thighs!!good work. good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

nice!

[OnAFly]

Chicken thighs are sooooo underrated. They are really good marinated and grilled. They always come out tender and juicy.

[old goose hunter]

Nice job! Man that makes me hungry!